Improvement in shifting-rails for carriages



UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIOE.

ELIHU P. STEDMAN, OF RAVENNA, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHIFTlNG-RAILS FOR CARRIAGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 166,728, dated August 17, 1875; application filed February 27, 1875.

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that I, ELIHU P. STEDMAN, of Ravenna, Portage county, Ohio, have invented certain Improvements in Shifting-Rails for Carriages, of which the following is a specification:

My invention consists of a shifting-rail made in sections, which are grooved to receive the flange of the carriage-seat, to which they are fastened.

In the drawing, Figure 1 represents the sections attached to the flange of the seat. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are cross-sections of different parts.

In Fig. 1, b is a carriage-seat, with the usual flange around the top, to which are attached the sections a a a a a which serve the purpose of a shifting-rail to support the carriagetop. The sections are grooved on the inside, and the flange of the seat enters the grooves, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The sections are fastened firmly to the seat by screws passing through the sections and flange of the seat, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. 0 o are the back-supports of the lazy-back h, and they extend down through the sections a a and seat-flange, and are fastened by a nut on the under side, as shown in Fig. 2. The props g 9, extending from and forming a part of the sections a a pass through and support the front ends of the lazy-back h, and they are also intended to pass through the slat-irons or bow-fingers to support the carriage-top. The props d d, projecting from and forming a part of the sections a a are used to support the top brace, and also as a rest for the bows when the top is lowered. The sections, of which the knob on section a and the knobs i i i 6 form a part, may be castings of malleable iron or other suitable material. These knobs are used to button the curtains, and they project from short flanges on the sections, as shown in Fig. 4. .The flanges c c 0, on sections a, have small holes through them, as shown in Fig. 3, in which knobs may be rivet-ed with the quarters between the knob and flange 0, thus firmly holding the lower ends of the quarters. These knobs area-lso used to button the back and side curtains.

' The carriage-top may be easily removed, as follows: By removing the nuts from the lower ends of the supports 0 0, the lazy-back h may be turned over forward on the props g 9; then by removing the remaining fastenings of sections a a and taking the slat-irons off the props g g, the top, with sections a a may be drawn back and removed from the seat. The

lazy-back It may then be turned back, and the 1 h, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

ELIHU P. STEDMAN. Witnesses:

BRADFORD HOWLAND, E. P. WILMoT. 

